There are three parts that make up a dental implant: a crown or cap, a dental abutment, and an implant. The dental abutment is attached to the implant so that the crown or cap can be placed on the dental abutment to provide a dental patient with new teeth. People who have an implant and abutment may have repaired teeth replacing natural teeth they had.
In general, in dentistry, through temporomandibular joint (TMJ) movements, an over-all structure of teeth may be in an oval shaped arc so that one can chew food through occlusion of upper and lower teeth. The word “occlusion” refers to a relationship between the upper and lower teeth, e.g., the alignment of teeth and the way the upper (maxillary) and lower (mandibular) teeth fit together in a bite. That is, dental occlusion may be described as contact between the teeth of the upper and lower jaw of a person. In the full bite, high rounded parts on a tooth surface of a tooth may come in contact with a grove of an opposing arch teeth in the maximum full bite.
As such, if the occlusion is not obtained, certain problems may occur with the occlusion, resulting in teeth damage which may bring forth teeth dysfunction. In this case, a dental device or a dental prosthetic crown may be used for repair. That is, the dental prosthetic device or crown may be made and placed on to a damaged tooth in order to repair the damaged tooth. In the description herein, a dental crown may include a tooth shaped cap that is placed over a tooth to cover the tooth to restore its shape and size, strength, and improve its appearance. Crowns are used most commonly to entirely cover or cap a damaged tooth or cover an implant.
For accurate manufacture and mounting of a dental crown, an existing or conventional technology may require a variety of devices including an oral impression, a model assembly and an articulator. In the conventional technology or method, an impression of a person's teeth and oral structure is first taken and made, and then the impression may be attached to an articulator assembly to determine an exact shape (or size) and location of an tooth for which an artificial tooth is to be produced or manufactured. Plaster may then be applied onto the impression and may be hardened or cured for a certain period of time. After the hardening process, it is reattached to the articulator assembly for further procedures. This conventional technique may involve a very complicated procedure and take a long time because of use of the plaster.
Typically, an existing model assembly comprises a mounting plate and a body to which the mounting plate is coupled. An oral model may be mounted on the mounting plate which will be cut into a unit tooth at a location of a target tooth for which it is to be manufactured.
However, there are many problems with the existing model assembly as described herein. Some of the existing technology as well as problems are described in a Korean Patent Application No. 10-20120140593. For example, when plaster is applied in a coupling portion of the mounting plate and the body of the model assembly, it may take a long time for curing to be completed due to use of the plaster, and it may produce an excessive amount of dust and sludge. Also, when the mounting plate is cut, shaking or movement may result adding to inaccuracy as a result. Further, when separating the mounting plate that is cut from the body of the model assembly, there may be some inconvenience of using a hammer to give a certain amount of impact on a pin on the mounting plate to remove and separate a prosthetic tooth. As a result, the forming an accurate contact area between teeth may be difficult.
Further, with the existing model assembly, there may be a certain amount of accuracy error arising out of or in connection with a conventional cutting process, in which an operator or technician may have to rely on their past experiences of locating places for the cutting. Thus, in the conventional cutting process, a lower pin of the mounting plate may be damaged or even cut by accident.
Further, as noted above, in the existing technique or method, the plaster is first applied to a dental impression of a patient, and then the plaster is hardened or cured. After the hardening process, an artificial tooth may be separated and reattached to an articulator for additional work by the operator or technician. This is a complicated procedure and may take a long time, in particular, due to the use of the plaster in the process. Furthermore, in the existing technique or method, positioning of a pin at a center of a tooth or abutment may be difficult, and an excessive application of the plaster to the articulator may cause it to overflow causing more problems.
As such, there is a need for further improved technology including an improved articulator that will enable manufacture of a dental restoration in a more convenient, faster, and accurate manner and for the method and techniques thereof.